Chapter 119 Maddy #2
He was remembering the situation with my parents and didn’t want me to deal with something like that again. Admittedly, that hadn’t been great, but I could handle Mom and Dad fine. No reason to make things awkward this late at night by taking Nico along.
“I’ll be good,” I said. “Don’t worry. If you’re asleep when I get home, I won’t wake you.”
He kissed me, and I left, leaving the madness behind me.
The cabin Nico had offered my parents was closer to the building than I’d realized.
No wonder the noise had woken them. From here, I could hear the scraping of cots on the floor, voices, and the cries and screams of children.
There’d probably been some sort of loud noise when Tiago’s pack arrived.
There was no way that many people appearing out of thin air had been silent.
It had probably sounded like thunder or something.
I knocked, and a few seconds later, my dad opened the door.
“Come in,” he said as he tightened his robe.
Mom was sitting at the kitchen table, her hands wrapped around a steaming cup of tea. She smiled at me as Dad closed the door.
“Sorry if the noise woke you up,” I said, gesturing toward the other building.
Dad waved my words away. “We were in bed, but we weren’t asleep.”
I wrinkled my nose. “Eww.”
My mother blushed. “Not like that.”
“No, we were talking,” Dad added. “We’ve watched more news about that attack in Virginia and were discussing how worried we were. I know we’re as safe here as we could be anywhere, but it’s still a bit worrisome.”
I sat down and poured myself a cup of tea. Mom was fidgeting with her cup, and I wondered if there was any way to alleviate their fears. Probably not.
“We’ll be fine. We have Sinthy, Nico, me, and the whole of Nico’s pack. This is the safest place we can be. That’s what all that noise was. Sinthy teleported another pack here. We’re gonna bring in as many as we can. That’s how safe it is.”
“Part of our worry is mired in guilt,” Dad said, unable to meet my eyes.
“Guilt about what?”
“About not telling you that you were a shifter,” Mom said.
“Maybe, if we’d told you sooner, you could have been better prepared to defend yourself.
That attack in the bar may have gone differently.
I’m so sorry. You can’t imagine how awful your father and I have been feeling since this all started. ”
I’d long since gotten over their deception.
Gabriella had put the fear of God into them when I was little.
Had basically made them believe I would be dead within weeks if my real self ever came out.
They weren’t to blame. And who knew, maybe the royals would have come for me as a child.
Then all three of us would probably be dead.
“I know who I am now. I’m in full contact with my wolf. I’m as prepared as I could ever be.”
Dad let his hand flop to the table. He looked like he’d aged ten years in the last few weeks.
“Who you are is another reason I’m worried.
Yes, you can defend yourself, but you aren’t any ordinary shifter.
Viola and her group will literally burn the world down to get to you.
No one on Earth is more at risk than you are.
I’m terrified of what happens if you end up in a fight.
If they can’t take you, they’ll kill you. ”
I reached out and put my hand on his, then reached over for Mom with my other. “I’m not fighting. Nico’s made that clear. The only reason I’m training is for the worst-case scenario. He’s said a million times that he wants me safe and sound if any fight breaks out. You trust Nico, don’t you?”
They shared a look, then nodded. Their nerves seemed to have calmed a bit by the time I left. When I got home, Sinthy and Gabriella were asleep in their rooms. Nico hadn’t returned yet. Too tired to wait up for him, I fell into bed and was asleep almost instantly.
I woke a little after ten the next morning. The bed beside me was ruffled and slept in but empty. Nico had gotten home after me and got up before me. Knowing that Sinthy would need to start refueling, I dragged myself out of bed and went downstairs to make brunch.
I was making omelets, biscuits, and gravy when she came down the hall, looking like a zombie. The dark circles under her eyes made her look older than her years.
“Hello, sleepyhead,” I said. “Food will be ready in five minutes.”
“I was gonna have Pop-Tarts. You didn’t have to do all this,” Sinthy said, waving at the spread.
I nodded at a bowl of fruit. “Eat some fruit. No magic until you’re fully reenergized.” I pointed my spatula at her. “Got it?”
Sinthy held her hands up in surrender and sat. She grabbed an apple and bit into it.
“You’re bossier than my mom was,” Sinthy said. Her face fell as what she said sunk in.
I had to keep reminding myself that she had not only lost her birth parents but also her adoptive mother, Isme, who only passed a couple of weeks ago. The wound had to still be fresh, regardless of how well Sinthy masked her grief.
Guided by my instinct, I circled the kitchen island and embraced her. Sinthy didn’t pull away. Instead, she sank into me. She didn’t cry or sob, just wrapped herself around me and let me offer her some comfort. It didn’t last long, but I could feel some of the sadness lift away from her.
Sinthy cleared her throat and looked around, obviously embarrassed. “Thanks for caring about me, Maddy.”
“That’s what I’m here for,” I said as I nudged a plate of food her way.
Despite her complaints, Sinthy ate like a teenage boy, scarfing down three servings before proclaiming she was stuffed.
I wondered if this was what it was like to have a little sister.
That’s kind of how I saw Sinthy. I’d been an only child and had no experience, but so far, it was nice.
Almost like having an older child, maybe?
That thought sent my head down another path. It seemed like I was doing a decent job in the role of big sister. What would it be like to have a different job? The job of a mother? As I ate, those thoughts swirled through my head. No matter what I did, the daydreams wouldn’t dissipate.